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Resurface Pole Canyon and Grey Cliffs Road
Great Basin National Park » Resurface Pole Canyon and Grey Cliffs Road » Document List
The proposed project involves resurfacing approximately 2 miles of dirt road beginning at the junction of Baker Creek road and the Grey Cliffs Group Campground access road, including all the loops within Grey Cliffs Group Campground and the Baker Narrows/Pole Canyon access road to the Park boundary. There will be no resurfacing work on the road directly south of and adjacent to Upper Pictograph and Lower Pictograph Caves in order to avoid potential damage to sensitive resources. This project is necessary to repair the deterioration of the roads due to erosion from precipitation and traffic, and encroachment of willows on either side of the road. The expected result of this resurfacing project is to improve two-wheel drive access for safe travel to these sites by park visitors and employees.
The proposed work might occur anytime between June and October and is expected to take up to four weeks to complete. During that time access to the Grey Cliffs Group Campground, Upper Pictograph Cave, Lower Pictograph Cave, Pole Canyon Trailhead and picnic area, and the park boundary may be temporarily controlled for the safety of park visitors and employees in order to allow work on the road to continue. Park visitors to these areas might encounter delays up to 15 minutes each way. Grey Cliffs group Campground is not expected to be closed during the work.
The resurfacing project consists of acquiring 1100 cubic yards of DOT Spec: Type II 3/4 minus road base (rocks less than ¾") which will be processed in Baker, Nevada and transported by dump trucks to the resurfacing site, where it will be spread and graded. Water will then be applied and the road base will be compacted by roller. The process of compaction involves applying water and pressure either by a roller or other heavy equipment. The resurfacing project may also involve the removal of willows growing along the roadway in some areas. The encroachment of willows along the road has caused the roadway to narrow in those places. Willows would be removed by hand, not heavy machinery, up to five feet beyond the edges of the road. Treatment would be contained entirely within the road prism, which is defined as the disturbed area of the ground containing the road surface, cut slope, and fill slope.
As an incidental part of the project, a small culvert located at the junction of the main road Grey Cliffs Group Campground and the road leading to Loop A will be replaced. The current culvert is undersized and inadequate to allow for normal drainage volumes. The primary use of this culvert is to allow precipitation from rain or snow melt to flow underneath the road.
Storage of road base as well as a staging area for equipment would not be necessary.
The proposed work might occur anytime between June and October and is expected to take up to four weeks to complete. During that time access to the Grey Cliffs Group Campground, Upper Pictograph Cave, Lower Pictograph Cave, Pole Canyon Trailhead and picnic area, and the park boundary may be temporarily controlled for the safety of park visitors and employees in order to allow work on the road to continue. Park visitors to these areas might encounter delays up to 15 minutes each way. Grey Cliffs group Campground is not expected to be closed during the work.
The resurfacing project consists of acquiring 1100 cubic yards of DOT Spec: Type II 3/4 minus road base (rocks less than ¾") which will be processed in Baker, Nevada and transported by dump trucks to the resurfacing site, where it will be spread and graded. Water will then be applied and the road base will be compacted by roller. The process of compaction involves applying water and pressure either by a roller or other heavy equipment. The resurfacing project may also involve the removal of willows growing along the roadway in some areas. The encroachment of willows along the road has caused the roadway to narrow in those places. Willows would be removed by hand, not heavy machinery, up to five feet beyond the edges of the road. Treatment would be contained entirely within the road prism, which is defined as the disturbed area of the ground containing the road surface, cut slope, and fill slope.
As an incidental part of the project, a small culvert located at the junction of the main road Grey Cliffs Group Campground and the road leading to Loop A will be replaced. The current culvert is undersized and inadequate to allow for normal drainage volumes. The primary use of this culvert is to allow precipitation from rain or snow melt to flow underneath the road.
Storage of road base as well as a staging area for equipment would not be necessary.